Juniper & McKown Point Column: Arrivals, tennis and more

Tue, 07/07/2020 - 12:30pm

Well, that was the Fourth of July. Never mind that we missed our lobster bake, how about the weather? If you haven’t made your way back yet, you missed fog and chilly drizzle for a good part of the weekend. The spectacular fireworks on Saturday night were partially obliterated by the fog, leaving large colorful smoky apparitions overhead where we should have seen bursting chrysanthemums and glaring rockets. No matter, it was colorful, long and loud!

Some driveways were filled this weekend, with visitors from newly exempted states (New York for one), and guests having taken the COVID-19 test. The Corbins always have a big bash on the 4th and sent in the following: Lee’s daughter Chris, her husband Andy and daughter Sydney arrived from Buffalo, having had a COVID-19 test beforehand only to fall in the exempt category upon arrival. While Andy went road biking at Dodge Point and Zack Preserve, Lee, daughter and granddaughter, along with a friend from Portland, helped boost the economy of downtown Boothbay Harbor by doing some serious shopping. Later, Andy and his and Chris’ friends staying at the Andrews’ little red cottage for the week, paddle-boarded around Linekin Bay. Lee’s son Gordon and his wife Carol rounded out the family reunion with their arrival just in time for the fireworks. He thinks they may hold the driving record, three straight days on the road from Boulder, Colorado.

Mary (Fleming) and Jeff Kowalski drove up from Pennsylvania, ready to quarantine on Samoset Road with help from daughter Sarah and her husband Patrick Boe and their daughter Margaret. Sarah and family are staying at the Fleming cottage on Massachusetts Road. According to Mary, both carloads made the trip with stops only alongside the road and she didn’t mean Burger King! For more details about alternative restrooms, ask Mary.We are all doing our small part to stay safe.

A nosy amble down a side road the other day brought your correspondent unexpectedly to the screen door of David Stanford and Bill Stroppel, having returned from their hiatus on Mouse Island for the past several summers. They are back renting on the Point (by a whisker.) Welcome back!

Dave and Susan have done a fantastic job running the tennis program. The Parent-Child event last Friday was full at each level. The Red Ball group included Sarah and Phoebe Kurtz and Dave, Becky. Abby and Claire Taylor. The Green and Orange Ball matches were played at the same time with the Green Ball winners John Swan and mom Holly. Orange Ball winners were Van Deegler and grandson Owen and George, Matt and Ingrid Keifer-Himes. The Advanced group had ten teams on the courts; it was a close competition with Matt and Soren Zimmer winning in the finals against Eric and John Slingerland.

Saturday the courts got a workout with a visit from former JPVIS tennis pro Jeff Mao (1990-2002), his wife Deanna and their sons Nathan and Peter. Jeff played doubles with his former students Po Grant, Eric Slingerland and Whit Hazleton, as well as Rick Barton, Dave Taylor, Susan Kirby, Gerard Matze and Kevin Hawkins. Dave loved hearing stories from Jeff’s days here at Juniper Point. Apparently some of Jeff’s college furniture still resides in the Directors Cottage.

Send in your news bites to annedooley@mindspring.com or call 633-6913. Thanks and remember — quarantine or test, keep at least a six-foot distance, wash your hands a lot and wear your mask when near others and as requested.